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Dance News: LUMBERYARD and BAM To Collaborate In BAM Next Wave Festival 2018

Published on August 1, 2017

David Neumann, Kimberly Bartosik And Kaneza Schaal Will Develop New York Premieres

BAM and LUMBERYARD Contemporary Performing Arts are pleased to announce a new collaboration through which LUMBERYARD will provide production residencies to artists readying new works for premiere in the BAM Next Wave Festival. Three artists, selected by BAM Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo for presentation in the 2018 Festival—David Neumann,Kimberly Bartosikand Kaneza Schaal—will each receive a $10,000 development fee, dramaturgical support, full LUMBERYARD technical crew, design support, production materials and equipment, housing, meals, local transportation, and professional documentation. These vital residencies will culminate in out-of-town premieres, which are widely seen as integral to the development of Broadway-bound theater productions but are infrequent for works of dance and contemporary performance. The productions in development at Lumberyard are David Neumann’s Because Science (working title); Kimberly Bartosik’s I hunger for you (working title); and Kaneza Schaal’s Jack & Jill.

David Neumann, American choreographer, actor and dancer.

Joseph V. Melillo, BAM Executive Producer, said, "The opportunities and support provided by Lumberyard will enable three unique artists to fully realize the work they envision, providing ample preparation before bringing their work to BAM’s stage. We look forward to a fruitful creative collaboration with Adrienne Willis and her colleagues.“

Adrienne Willis, Executive and Artistic Director of LUMBERYARD Contemporary Performing Arts, said, "This collaboration demonstrates that LUMBERYARD’s production residency program is a vital asset for the field at large—providing much-needed support to this country's foremost presenting institutions, artists, and audiences. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with our friends at BAM to bring these three exciting projects to fruition for the 2018 Next Wave Festival.”

Multidisciplinary artist Kaneza Schaal.

The collaboration marks the first time BAM has launched a formal relationship with an established residency partner. The initiative builds upon considerable acclaim for LUMBERYARD's residency program, which the organization launched to address a well-documented need among artists in the field for resources, time, and space to more fully develop new works in advance of their national or New York premieres. Since it established the program in 2011, LUMBERYARD has provided residencies to a wide range of artists whose projects have gone on to premiere at BAM, including Wendy Whelan, Jock Soto, and David Neumann; Steven Reker; Urban Bush Women; Brian Brooks; Zvi Gotheiner; Jodi Melnick; David Dorfman; and Ivy Baldwin.

Exterior of the Lumberyard in Catskill, N.Y. The Lumberyard, formerly the American Dance Institute. Photo: Will Waldron.

LUMBERYARD is developing a state-of-the-art facility in Catskill, New York, including a 5,500-square foot flexible performance space with multiple configurations to replicate New York City stages. When it opens in the spring of 2019, the four-building facility on the Hudson River waterfront will allow the organization to drastically expand its activities, especially its residency program. Each year in Catskill, LUMBERYARD will present a summer season consisting of out-of-town premiere performances by professional artists and companies. From October through April, the facility will be available for commercial rentals and community programming.